Be able to make charts/tables!

[DankDoodles]

Why can't we be able to make charts/tables/whatever you want to call them yet?
I think it would be so much more helpful organizing forum posts instead of having to:

• Go to Google Docs
• Make a table on a blank document
• Copy it
• Go back to the forum
• Paste it
• Try to fix the text/format of it (text size, bold/italic, etc)
• you get the idea

Plus instead of invisible spaces that separate the text, there will be actual lines that will separate them, like how they are supposed to!

Example of what I am trying to talk about:

 

[piratemonkey]

IMO for parts lists you should use pcpp, and the links will do formatting and stuff automatically. This is a somewhat good idea though, just unnecessary I guess

[DankDoodles]

3 minutes ago, piratemonkey said:

IMO for parts lists you should use pcpp, and the links will do formatting and stuff automatically. This is a somewhat good idea though, just unnecessary I guess

So basically this then:

• Go to PC Part Picker
• Make a computer spec list
• Copy it
• Go back to the forum
• Paste it
• Try to fix the text/format of it (text size, bold/italic, etc)
• you get the idea

[piratemonkey]

4 minutes ago, DankDoodles said:

So basically this then:

• Go to PC Part Picker
• Make a computer spec list
• Copy it
• Go back to the forum
• Paste it
• Try to fix the text/format of it (text size, bold/italic, etc)
• you get the idea

No. you make the list (you'll need to make one regardless; at least it's shareable interplatform [reddit, other forums etc.] this way) then copy the link then paste it. I'm pretty sure that's what's in the subforum rules for new builds and planning

[zeusthemoose]

11 minutes ago, DankDoodles said:

So basically this then:

• Go to PC Part Picker
• Make a computer spec list
• Copy it
• Go back to the forum
• Paste it
• Try to fix the text/format of it (text size, bold/italic, etc)
• you get the idea

Like @piratemonkey said, when you make a list in pcpp, there is a section where a link is shown that you can copy and paste. It will look like this; https://pcpartpicker.com/list/jtrGRJ. When I paste that in, it automatically turns into:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i7-8700K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor	$299.99 @ B&H
CPU Cooler	Corsair H55 57 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler	$65.61 @ B&H
Motherboard	MSI Z370-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory	ADATA XPG Z1 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 CL16 Memory
Storage	ADATA Ultimate SU650 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$49.22 @ Amazon
Storage	Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$44.99 @ Adorama
Video Card	Asus GeForce GTX 1070 8 GB Dual Series Video Card
Case	Corsair SPEC-05 ATX Mid Tower Case	$64.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	EVGA BR 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$64.94 @ Office Depot
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit	$108.78 @ Other World Computing
Case Fan	NZXT FN V2 45 CFM 120 mm Fan	$15.00
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$713.52
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-10-16 23:16 EDT-0400

So it all you need charts for is parts lists, there you go. It you have other uses for it, then maybe Mortis would consider adding it, but I don’t think it would be used enough to warrant its addition.

[LogicalDrm]

There's slight issues with tables and other things which rely on everyone using pretty much same default browser settings. And that's if it looks good on your screen, it most likely won't on my. Or any mobile device or device with smaller screen (laptops).

 

As example, that PCPP formatting with 3 columns is absolute max for phones.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

9 hours ago, LogicalDrm said:

As example, that PCPP formatting with 3 columns is absolute max for phones.

yeah, and sometimes the part names can be split into 3 or 4 lines on my iphone 8. probably would be better on a larger phone.

[colonel_mortis]

If you want charts, you should use google sheets/excel/matplotlib/R to make them - there's no way that the forum would be able to offer a satisfactory solution there.

 

For tables, I'd like to know how you would intend to use them in a forum post. I'm struggling to come up with good reasons to use a table in a post.

[divito]

35 minutes ago, colonel_mortis said:

For tables, I'd like to know how you would intend to use them in a forum post. I'm struggling to come up with good reasons to use a table in a post.

Just being able to type up a list with columns can be handy vs. Sheets + snipping, saving, adding to post. Old forum software in the past used to have the feature, but as you mention, good reasons and its prevalence was slim which is probably why more current software omitted that type of functionality. 

[colonel_mortis]

11 minutes ago, divito said:

Just being able to type up a list with columns can be handy vs. Sheets + snipping, saving, adding to post. Old forum software in the past used to have the feature, but as you mention, good reasons and its prevalence was slim which is probably why more current software omitted that type of functionality. 

What I'm interested to know though is what you're trying to make a list with multiple columns for. My initial impression on this is that it's not a sufficiently common use case to justify the effort needed to implement, but I want to understand how you expect it to be used before passing judgement.

[divito]

13 minutes ago, colonel_mortis said:

What I'm interested to know though is what you're trying to make a list with multiple columns for. My initial impression on this is that it's not a sufficiently common use case to justify the effort needed to implement, but I want to understand how you expect it to be used before passing judgement.

I definitely agree that it wouldn't be common enough to use.

On prior forums, the most common thing I recall them being used for was breaking down lists for debate purposes, poll tallying (before actual polls became a thing), and for displaying images a bit better compared to the regular way the forum displayed images; it was easier to throw thumbnails into a grid than display them on top of one another.